by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Mar 25, 2026 | Uncategorized, Upcoming Webinars, Webinars
Wednesday, April 8, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC/6 pm BST. Presented by: Angela Fletcher and Glen Delaney of Earth Economics. Description: Marine and coastal ecosystems provide many ecosystem services that are essential to human communities, including food, recreational opportunities, and protection of infrastructure from natural disasters. These benefits are not often framed in economic terms, which can lead to them being overlooked in decision-making. Communicating ecosystem services in economic terms can support more holistic decision-making that accounts for the full range of benefits these systems provide. In this webinar, Angela Fletcher and Glen Delaney of Earth Economics will introduce the fundamentals of ecosystem service valuation and demonstrate how they have applied these methods in marine and coastal contexts. Earth Economics is a nonprofit economic consultancy with 26 years of experience applying valuation techniques in decision-making, policy, and project implementation. They will begin with a brief overview of ecosystem services and valuation basics, then walk through three real-world case studies that illustrate how valuation can inform conservation, restoration, and policy decisions: a valuation study of kelp forests along the California coast; the use of valuation to inform a National Marine Sanctuary application for the St. George Unangan Heritage site; and how valuation can support funding for salmon habitat restoration in the Duckabush Estuary in Washington State.
by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Sep 4, 2025 | Past Webinars, Uncategorized, Webinars
This webinar originally aired on Thursday, September 4, 2025. Panelists and moderator include: Alex Hearn, Professor and Researcher at the University of San Francisco de Quito and the Galapagos Science Center; Nai’a Lewis, Director of Big Ocean and Founder and CEO of Salted Logic; Kerry Sink, Marine Program Manager and Principal Scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute; Alan White, President of the Board of the Coastal Conservation and Educational Foundation (Philippines); Lauren Wenzel, MPA Advisor for the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (moderator). Description: Opposition from fishing communities and industries, shifts in government support, funding crises, misinformation and counternarrative campaigns, political instability, natural disasters… Challenges like these can emerge at any stage of an MPA’s development – from planning to long-term implementation – and threaten to derail the MPA’s progress towards achieving its goals. This webinar will discuss ways that MPAs can persevere through adversity, and the factors and strategies that enable MPAs to be durable and make headway toward their missions despite headwinds. Our panelists will speak to their experiences working through MPA processes with communities and industries, designing and redesigning MPAs, and generally ensuring MPA effectiveness. We also encourage webinar participants to share relevant experiences, insights, expertise, and resources during the webinar via the webinar chat. Questions for discussion with the panelists and other participants can be sent in advance of the webinar to sarah@octogroup.org.
by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Nov 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
Wednesday, November 13, 7 am US EST/Noon UTC/1 pm CET [***Webinar will last 1.5 hours***] Presenters: IUCN plastics experts and guest speakers from islands addressing plastic waste. Description: This webinar will focus on island-specific plastic pollution solutions, including tools for understanding plastic waste solutions, economic angles of plastic pollution, case studies, and solutions platforms to generate knowledge exchange for more effective mitigation and prevention of plastic waste and pollution. Just a few of the tools and resources to be covered include the Blueprint to Zero Plastic Waste – a guide to reducing plastic waste on islands – and findings of studies estimating the impacts of marine plastics on the fisheries and tourism sectors and the costs and benefits of implementing a solution (e.g., a national recycling system, with and without regional cooperation) to reduce mismanaged plastic waste and its leakage into the marine environment. Case studies will provide information on what has worked and not worked on islands, including the sustainability of projects.
